Chinese tea

Tea drinking traditions in China are several thousand years old. During this time there have been created lots of methods for tea preparation and use, including not only casual, everyday tea-drinking, but also special, artistic rituals and accesories for some special occasions.

As tea-drinking created special emotional mind state and spiritual feeling, in West it soon became known as tea “ceremony”. In Chinese the ceremony is called GUN-FU CHA, where GUN-FU means “supreme mastery (skill)” or “highest art”, and CHA, accordingly - “tea”. Thus, the true meaning of GUN-FU CHA is “the highest art of tea-drinking”. (You can find more information about Chinese teas and ceremonies on tea-room “Goija” website www.tea-room.lv, in library category)

Tea drink is interaction of fire, water, tea leaf, space, place and condition. All these components must be in very accuratel balance, created by calm, free and careful tea-master's state of mind.

Chinese teas usually are divided in such categories: